When Sri Mulyani Meets Friends 'Frequency': Two Anis Discuss Climate Change

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani (right) with colleagues (Photo: Instagram @smindrawati)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani, today had the opportunity to host her old colleague at the World Bank Aniruddha (Ani) Dasgupta in a warm meeting at the Office of the Ministry of Finance Jakarta.

On this occasion, the state treasurer was involved in discussions regarding the latest economic opportunities and challenges.

“Two Anis discussed climate change. Meet @worldresources President Aniruddha (Ani) Dasgupta, a long-time friend at @worldbank. We happen to have the same name. This time we are discussing climate change handling, especially in Indonesia", she said in a written statement, Tuesday, February 21.

The Minister of Finance explained, Indonesia is fully committed to dealing with climate change, one of which is through a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitment.

"Indonesia's NDC target has been increased from 29 per cent to 31.89 per cent for own businesses. This figure is equivalent to 915 million tons of CO2 emissions in 2030", she said.

Minister of Finance explained, from the fiscal side the APBN is focused on encouraging the handling of climate change.

She said Climate Budget Tagging (CBT) has become our mechanism at the central and regional levels, and from 2016 to 2021, $34 million or the equivalent of IDR 502 trillion has been accumulated for dealing with climate change.

In addition, to support sustainable economic growth, the government is said to be preparing a carbon tax. The Minister of Finance claims that the carbon tax is a fiscal instrument that not only aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also to make all investments in Indonesia much more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

"I also emphasize to Ani, international cooperation plays a very vital role in handling climate change. Indonesia through the G20 Presidency in 2022 and the ASEAN Chair in 2023 has and will continue to encourage sustainable finance and a green transition", she stressed.

The state treasurer added that the government through the Ministry of Finance will continue to be present to encourage and accelerate all efforts to deal with climate change because this is a very real challenge.

“All for the future of our nation and the world! From a meeting with the President and CEO of the World Resources Institute, Aniruddha Dasgupta. Jakarta, 21 February 2023", concluded Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.